Jayden Hibbert is just days removed from his first home MLS start. Now, the 21-year-old will get a closer look in the international ranks.
The Atlanta United goalkeeper has been called into the Canadian men’s national team for a pair of away friendlies against Romania and Wales, Canada Soccer announced today. Hibbert is eligible for the CanMNT through his mother, who was born outside Toronto.
It’s the second senior national team opportunity for Hibbert, who was called into Jamaica’s national team last year and logged a couple of appearances with the Reggae Boyz (he is eligible through his father). Of course, he’s eligible for the U.S. men’s national team by birth.
For Hibbert, since he has not appeared in an official competition for Canada or Jamaica, he is eligible for a one-time switch to represent either country. That could prove to be an interesting tug-of-war for both federations as they look to bring him into the fold. That’s assuming the U.S. doesn’t pursue him as well, but as of this time, there’s been no indication that they will do so in the future.
Near-term, we’ll see if Hibbert sees the 2025 season out as Atlanta’s first-choice keeper with the Five Stripes’ playoff fate essentially secured. All indications are that the team will move on from Brad Guzan, so giving Hibbert a relatively low-risk audition to wrap up the campaign is a logical option for a club that is, in Chris Henderson’s words, looking for a No. 1 for 2026 and beyond.
[…] Jayden Hibbert called into Canada men’s national team for Romania, Wales friendlies […]
With Jesse Marsch saying Hibbert’s potential is “something very unique and big,” I expect we’ll let him go for a song during the winter transfer window…
I’m a fan of giving the guy minutes and the ability to build his confidence since he appears to be our next in line once Guzan moves on (which I feel will be at the end of the season). Him + Cohen should get us through the next season barring any injuries.
well deserved. and he should start every available mls match for the rest of the year.
I’m a little torn here.
On the one hand, I’d rather have him here and starting the games he would miss (I assume he will miss some, but I don’t know that for sure) due to the callup rather than joining Canada and maybe sitting on the bench for 2 games.
On the other hand, I’m generally against the idea of a team refusing to let a player go to a national squad on a callup, particularly if it is a young player without many or any caps/appearances. You never know how many opportunities you’re going to get, and they chance to practice or even play with a national team is a great opportunity for someone young in their career.
If I knew he was going to play in one or both of the friendlies, I would have no internal debate.
Doesn’t appear that he would have to miss any matches – the friendlies are on Sept 5th and Sept 9th (our last match before the international break is 8/30, and the next match is 9/13 – so he should be good).
Cool thank you. I was too
lazybusy at work to check.Since he will miss no matches here, all for him getting the opportunity.
Do friendlies count as appearances for national team duty? Since he already appeared for Jamaica, will Hibbert have to fill out paperwork to switch to Canada and stick with them forever?
No, since they aren’t considered part of official competitions
They count as appearances, but a player is not cap tied to a country until they play in an official competition for them.